Millennium Alliance Grant Supports Indian Social Enterprises For Global Scale-Up

An innovation driven – impact focused program, the Millennium Alliance is currently accepting applications under its global grant from social enterprises looking to test, replicate and scale proven Indian innovations and technologies, for the bottom of the pyramid populations, in other low-income developing countries within the focus sectors of Health, WASH and Agriculture.

The Millennium Alliance is a multi-stakeholder partnership bringing together the Technology Development Board; Government of India, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK’s Department for International Development (UKAID), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and other key stakeholders from the global development ecosystem. Since its’ inception in 2012, the program has awarded 86 Indian innovations, directly benefitting more than 6.8 million people at the BoP level in over 20 Indian states and 7 developing countries.

Under its global grant, the program has thus far supported 12 projects in 7 countries in Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda) and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan), positively impacting more than 187,000 beneficiaries at the base of the pyramid.

Of the 12 projects, some key innovations include: MIRA Channel by ZMQ Development, an integrated mobile phone channel focused on getting communication on maternal and child health to rural women in low-resource settings on issues such as pre-natal care, family planning etc. using RMNCH+A approach. Positive outcomes from India led to an adaptation of the channel in Uganda and Afghanistan, where over 1, 00,000 (& growing) women, children and girls currently utilize the solution.

With the Millennium Alliance support, Waterlife India has been able to expand its’ Community Water Systems (CWS) into Africa with Waterlife Rwanda, forming a 10 year partnership with the Government of Rwanda to achieve their aim of safe drinking water for all. Partnerships have also been forged with governments in Tanzania and Uganda.